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E-Commerce Sales Rise 3.7%

Seasonally adjusted U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the third quarter jumped 3.7% from the previous quarter, the Census Bureau announced today. E-commerce retail revenue amounted to $57 billion, about 5% of total retail sales. Total retail sales increased 1.4% in the third quarter.

Compared to 2011's third quarter, e-commerce sales increased by more than 17%, while total retail sales bumped up just 4.6%. Amazon.com's (Nasdaq: AMZN) third-quarter sales came in at $13.8 billion and eBay's (Nasdaq: EBAY) revenue came in at $3.4 billion. The sales represent 28% and 15% quarter-over-quarter increases, respectively.

E-commerce sales have consistently accounted for a larger portion of overall retail sales over the past 10 years:

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